In an age getting painted over by "correctness," it just said it. / Netflix "Human, Exposed."

The problem

On broadcast TV, even a little controversy could bring down regulations, but Netflix was winning people over by portraying human instinct and desire exactly as they are, through shows like The Naked Director and Crash Landing on You. It was an era that needed a counterpunch against expression being painted over by compliance.

The insight

Kunihiko Mishima of Dentsu, who wrote the copy, has said that rather than aiming for one memorable line, he wanted to create a symbol people would remember word by word. The way he chose his words—declaring that Netflix is the place where feelings that are supposed to stay hidden can be shown fully exposed—is just incredible.

The idea

60 seconds, carried entirely by narration. It opens with "What a beautiful age, when anything not correct gets burned away," then asks, "Is it a crime to show people exactly as they are?" After that, it fires off ten raw emotions—truth, desire, instinct, and more—one after another, each framed as "Exposed ___." The ad was also put up in huge form at Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

What happened

At the 2020 ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS, it won the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award / ACC Grand Prix in the TV commercial category. It also won the Tokyo Copywriters Club's New Writer Award that same year.

Afterthought

I heard that Mishima's motto is "Boredom is a crime," and that made everything click for me. "Human, Exposed." carries both a rebellion against advertising itself and a real affection for it—that's probably why it hit so hard in that era. Now that "correctness" has only gotten stronger, this is an ad worth watching again.

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